Monday, 10 September 2007

Lynsey Addario: Darfur

Lynsey Addario is a photojournalist based in Istanbul, Turkey, where she works for The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Fortune and National Geographic among others. With no professional training or studies, she began photographing in 1996 for The Buenos Aires Herald in Argentina, where she worked for one year before returning to New York. In 1997, she began freelancing for the The Associated Press and has since covered many international stories for a variety of the world's top publications.

She works in natural light with digital cameras (Nikon D200 ) and frequently uses a Widelux, a panoramic camera. Lynsey believes that working in the Muslim world as a woman is much easier than for a man. She tells us "Muslims for the most part are incredibly warm and hospitable and often families will invite you into their homes to meet their wives and children and to share a meal. I think this gets a little tricky for male photographers and the more religious families, where men outside of the family shouldn't see women uncovered. "

Her website is replete with a wide range of photo essays...including Darfur, the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and intriguingly Saudi Arabia. For TTP, I feature Lynsey's excellent work on Darfur...it's hard-hitting and graphic...but it's this type of photographic reportage that will continue to prod hypocritical governments, lethargic world bodies and reptilian politicians into action.

About The Travel Photographer

Based in New York City, I am a freelance photographer specializing in documenting endangered cultures
and traditional life ways of Asia, Latin America and Africa. My images, articles and photo features were published in various magazines, and my travel photographs were featured by some of the largest adventure travel companies in the United States and Great Britain, as well as in multinational corporations' art collections. My photographs have been acquired by a range of eclectic buyers; from the Standard Chartered’ Bank's permanent art collection to Spike TV.

I also organize and lead photo expeditions and workshops for photographers who share my enthusiasm for unusual cultures,
uncommon locations and lesser known festivals. I'm a faculty member at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, and give workshops at the Travel Photographer Society (Kuala Lumpur).